Euro 2012 draw in full: England grouped with Wales

By measterbrook

Fabio Capello did not get the ultimate Battle of Britain clash – but after declaring "bring it on" beforehand, he will now discover what a big scalp England are after his side were pitted against Wales in the qualifiers for Euro 2012.

As proceedings unfolded in Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science, England were still to be drawn with only three positions left to fill.

A tantalising meeting with the Scots was still on the cards, only for legendary Poland international Zbigniew Boniek to confirm an English trip to Cardiff as part of the route to the finals, which Poland will co-host with the Ukraine.

Capello knows all about Wales' current crop of exciting youngsters already, having shared a flight with John Toshack on the way to the draw. "Wales will be my first derby," said the Italian.

"It will be good because they are a very young team.

"I spoke with John Toshack on the flight over. He told me the average age is 22 and he had some really good young players. It will be interesting – for me and England."

It is less than five years since the last meeting between the two countries, when Joe Cole's solitary goal proved enough to clinch an England victory at the Millennium Stadium en route to qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. Sven-Goran Eriksson's side also beat Wales at Old Trafford in that campaign, and given the respective status of both nations, it would be a major shock if England did not complete another double.

Capello claimed Group A – headed by Germany and including Turkey – and Group G – where England ended up – were the toughest, but England will stand a great chance of qualifying. Wales are beatable, despite the talents of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Collison, while Montenegro won only once in the recent World Cup qualifiers and finished bottom of their group. Bulgaria, who can call on Dimitar Berbatov and Stiliyan and Martin Petrov will present a bigger challenge, while Switzerland do not appear to pose a major threat despite having qualified for this year's World Cup.

Group A: @Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan

Group B: @Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra

Group C: @Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands

Group D: @France, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg

Group E: @Holland, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, San Marino

Group F: @Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta

Group G: @England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro

Group H: @Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland

Group I: @Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein